1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a connector having a retainer.
2. Description of the Related Art
U.S. Pat. No. 6,780,070 discloses a connector with a housing that has cavities for receiving terminal fittings. A retainer-mounting hole extends into the housing and communicates with the cavities. The retainer mount hole is open in the bottom surface of the housing and both side surfaces thereof. The connector also has a retainer that is movable between a temporary locking position and a main locking position on the housing. At the temporary locking position, the retainer permits insertion of the terminal fittings into the cavities and removal of the terminal fittings from the cavities. At the main locking position, the retainer locks the terminal fittings in the cavities. Temporary locking projections are formed on the housing for holding the retainer at the temporary locking position and main locking projections are formed on the housing for holding the retainer at the main locking position.
The temporary locking projections and the main locking projections are arranged vertically on the side surfaces of the housing over the upper end of the retainer-mounting hole. Therefore, the housing has a large vertical dimension. A demand exists for a connector with a small vertical height. The temporary locking projections and the main locking projections could be arranged side-by-side on the side surfaces of the housing along one longitudinal edge of the retainer-mounting hole. However, the mounting posture of such a retainer would be unstable because the locking projections would be localized at one side in the longitudinal direction of the housing. Thus, locking at the temporary locking position is not dependable.
The invention has been completed in view of the above-described situation. Therefore it is an object of the present invention to provide a connector having a small vertical dimension and capable of locking a retainer securely.